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Old Forum Trying to untangle nutrition confusion

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Agree 100% with you Steve, have you perused "Fat Loss on Mondays?" It is based around making the smallest incremental changes (regressions) to see results, ones that can be maintained permanently.

nutrition, all aspects of vigor can and should be viewed as a practice just as our training here at StrongFirst. I know all too well what happens when trying to make drastic, unrealistic changes as Steve mentioned. Keep up the efforts Faisal!
 
Zach, I have not read that book, but the premise, as you describe, makes sense.

FWIW, I usually weigh the most on Mondays - I tend to eat less during the week, and more on the weekends, this in addition to eating more for dinner and less during the day.  I also like to weigh more in the winter when it's pretty freakin' cold around here and I'm still walking a couple of miles most days.  To everything, there is a season - and all that.

-S-
 
Zach beat me to it.  "Fat Loss Happens on Monday," and Georgie's "Lean Habits" are both about working on habits until you're ready to add another.

I've enjoyed this thread.  Thanks, guys.
 
Faisal, I sympathize.  Understanding nutrition is extremely difficult for an amateur, since even Phds get it wrong.  Rest assured that butter and curry are two of the healthiest things you can eat, and white rice is a "safe starch."  My resources on what to eat are the Weston A Price Foundation and The Perfect Health Diet, and timing is The Warrior Diet and Carb Backloading.  And Gary Taubes  on bad science and the absurdity of the calorie theory.

Ironically, I have lingering questions.  Because I've never been fat, I can't pinpoint exactly what it is I'm doing right and keep doing it.
 
Interesting thread, I think I can relate with Faisal's issue.

It seems that the base answer is "eat clean".  That being said, and not to make excuses for myself, that is not as easy for some of us.  Again, I'm not making excuses for myself but I work a job that requires travel and no regular shift.  I am constantly playing with getting rest and getting in my training.  Even when I've been able to get a regular schedule it has been night work so I am playing with the day sleeper issue.  Add in a little stress and the slip up is easy to make.

Zach, I have not read the new book from DJ, so that may be a resource I need to check out.  I'm 55 so it has become tougher and I really want to get my body fat down below 15%.  After getting back into more serious training I had great success in getting my body fat down in the 19 to 20% range and from there it has been a struggle.  I have tried going as low as 1500 cal./day with such little progress that it was depressing.

Steve, have you had any cholesterol issues with your diet regime?

Matt, kudos to you man!
 
My total cholesterol is high because my good cholesterol is 2-3 times the required number for a "normal" reading.  My doctor says he wishes he was as healthy as I am.

-S-
 
Matt, thanks for the recommendations. I guess whatever you’re doing is working so keep it up.

Banzaiengr, thanks for sharing your experience and good luck on the journey. I can imagine how hard it is with all the variables you need to juggle.

I went down the calorie restriction and warrior diet route (even carbs phobia at one point), this led me to the 68kg body weight (at 175cm) but I was weak and the stubborn fat had hardly budged (mid section and chest).

Solely relying on calories wasn’t the right approach for me, quantity of food is important as that is what dictates the scale weight and that certainly worked for me. Becoming leaner is more about the quality of food, ensuring one takes enough protein to not lose muscle and then eating appropriate amounts of fat or carb depending on your body type, fat percentage, what gives you satisfaction etc. I also learnt recently through experimenting that being on a hypertrophy program doesn’t mean free for all as I gained significant fat without much muscle at all in the 4 weeks.

I was thinking about the issue of butter after Steve and Zach’s posts. In my case cutting out the butter seems to have made an immediate difference to me as that directly relates to less calories. Restricting starches to mostly post workout hasn’t made me miserable nor any energy slumps so I will continue and add some back in if needed.

I have been successfully eating a lot more vegetables for the last 2 weeks, this was the big challenge for me. I have kept the junk to a minimal, though didn’t totally avoid it, had a few treats at the weekend as it was my daughter’s birthday.
 
Banz- caloric restriction to that degree will only produce short term results, the highest estimation I've seen is two weeks before leptin crashes, you're basically downshifting metabolism and setting yourself up for a rebound.

lifestyle modification is what will bfing your success. even after a decade of "trying" my biggest weakness is planning, the book we referenced has a plan for that. I know when my day will be stressful, wnay I need to do, etc. yet I struggle having things ready. The old Bill Phillips line is very wise, "failing to plan is planning to fail." Habit I'm practicing now to change, my #1 priority in this dimension of my health.

in your case you sound like you know what your triggers are, so planNing is going to be key I think (from the few details we read). You know where you'll be going, plan a trip to the store, have options with you,  find restaurants ahead of time and decide EXACTLY what to order, you won't be tempted that way when tired and your brain is burging for instant glucose.

tim Ferriss offers awesome travel advice. There services that deliver food to your hotel, to compliment the satisfying snacks you have with you. Dont deprive yourself, savor better options, don't be perfect, just better each time. We ALL have the option of eating a meal slowly, being focused on each bite, no cell phones, TV etc., making a meal last and savoring it. at any given time we can choose to breath diaphragmatically.

if you're REALLY struggling there's awesome regimens for using specific amino acids to help balance the brain chemistry from several well regarded books.

 

One quick personal note aside from the planning issue I'm rectifting (which by the way thanks to all as I will be doing so after this thread
 
Just thought I’ll update this thread after 6 weeks of following the plan I outlined at the start.

Started at 82kg on 6th May and close to 20% body fat.

I’ve been adhering to my plan for about 80-90% of the time, some cheat meals and little treats here and there.

At the end of first 3 Weeks (27-May) I dropped to 78kg, an average of 3 lbs per week, water weight loss probably a factor for this rate.

At the end of nearly 6 weeks (16-Jun) I dropped to 76.5kg, an average of 1 lb per week. My body fat as per the callipers is just under 15%.

 
 
Are you ready for a very different approach, I suggest you read the 80/10/10 book written by douglas graham and you will have a new idea about carbs, protein & fat . this book was an eye opener in many ways. not the info. that major food industry feeds ya. any way different people have diff. diets for many diff reasons. best of luck
 
Jeff,

If you are aiming to base your diet on politics and misunderstandings about ethics, a raw vegan diet is a great way to do it. It will have the added bonus of depriving you of many important nutrients and increasing your risk of death from numerous causes. It may be better than candy and soda, but it can't compete with what humans thrive on - cooked vegetables and meat. No quackery like Mr. Graham's book can wash out the large body of scientific evidence contradicting him.
 
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